Instead of trying to cull through all of your logs, I wanted to post a question about body fat percentage. I’ve reduced mine by 10% but I know I have a ways to go. I am not shooting for bikini model stuff (puhleeze) and want to remain strong. A lot of you have body shapes/sizes which would make me happy. What are your body fat %ages and/or goals? Do you know what is a reasonable percentage for a woman who likes to lift heavy to shoot for?
Deb,
I know mine is around 30%, but that was done with one of those hand squeeze things where you put your height/weight in and then squeeze the metal handles and then it tells you your body fat and bmi. I’m 5’7 and weigh about 180 and am a size 14/16 right now, so that’s probably right. I would like to get down to 20-25% or lower and 140/150.
http://www.nutribase.com/fwchartf.shtml This website, at the very bottom has body fat % for men/women.
Hey Deb, Bf % is hard to measure and I have no conceivable way to get an accurate measurement, so I really don’t know mine. I generally put myself around 20%, considering i weigh around 130 and measure 5’2 (29 yrs old).
I could def stand to drop a few pounds and i’m looking to lean out by maybe 2-3lbs of fat. That’s not a lot i know, but its enough for me to show muscle while not being overly stringent with the diet and still taking in enough cals to hopefully keep building muscles. But honestly, its all magic to me. You’re best bet is to go by what you look like in the mirror and how your clothes feel.
From my research, there are very few ways to accurately measure body fat percentage. Calipers are a waste of time (in my opinion) and have a huge margin of error. If you look great and feel great and are lifting big weights . . . that’s my measure of success.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
From my research, there are very few ways to accurately measure body fat percentage. Calipers are a waste of time (in my opinion) and have a huge margin of error. If you look great and feel great and are lifting big weights . . . that’s my measure of success.[/quote]
amen sister!
Hey Deb, I am 21 years old, 5’7’’ tall and 163 pounds.
Back in November I was measured with a 3 point caliper reading and that put me at 26% body fat.
3 Months ago my friend and I did it with a 7 point caliper method which said I was 22%.
I am still unhappy with my BF%. I would like to sit at 15%. I would like to get to 12% just to see how I would look. But anyways. I don’t trust those caliper readings anyways. I heard that if you get a bone scan or something, that can tell you the most accurate body fat.
THat’s my two cents.
_Mel
i say go with the mirror. those #'s are not only hard to test but kinda pointless in my opinion–its like weight. every thing is relative and very specific to each person.
Some people look incredibly lean at 20–28% (again, how can you trust the results?) compared to others who don’t. I think genetics is such a factor in so many things, its hard to give one answer as to appropriate ranges ever, not for weight to height ratios, or body fat.
I’ve had my body fat% tested for medical reasons years ago by a turbo scanner and i believe that is the most accurate way, and i would not trust the trainers at gyms to give an accurate one at all! go with how you look i say!
I got tested with calipers once and came in at 19.9.
I don’t think percentages are a good way to make goals though, if your goals are aesthetic. For that, I go by the mirror. If it’s a medical issue then I suppose percentages would be helpful.
Interesting that most of you don’t feel calpiers are an accurate test. I think I will let the % goal go and just go with inches, clothes, and how I look. At this point I am in fantastic shape on all of my extremeties, back and chest. I am only “squishy” at my waist. Seems as though tightening up the diet more, losing more weight and doing fat burning stuff would fix that.
A friend tested me last summer and I was around 13%. I thought that sounded low but it was immaterial. I got a few lectures from other power lifters and strength athletes that in a sport where men sit around 15%, I was too low and it would affect recovery. I don’t know what I’m at now but I put on 9 lbs or so. After I gained weight, people later told me that I looked like crap before.
Like Alisa, I would use the mirror as a guide in addition to how I felt…as long as I make weight 
Deb, your plan is a good one. I don’t know my BF % and, like Snapper, don’t think it can be accurately measured by a caliper test.
I go by the scale, mostly. Since I’m in maintenance mode, I try to hit my AM scale weight within a pound every day.
I do, however, think there is a trade-off for me between gaining strength and keeping my preferred body shape.
Kimba that is something that really concerns me. I love my current strength but I think if I dropped another 10 pounds of fat (and it would be fat) my strength shouldn’t be affected.
Deb, I don’t think you should be overly concerned. I am still gaining strength on about 1800-1900 calories/day, but probably more slowly than if I ate more and added a few more pounds of fat.
Its all a trade-off.
I wish I could do the clothes test. I can’t wait to get home and see how all my civilian clothes fit after a year. It’s going to be weird. I know my pants are going to be super tight. My legs have gotten huge. and my ass. uhg. so much for wearing skinny straight leg jeans.
Well Mel seeing your photos you have a fantastic body and should not mourn the loss of the skinny straight leg jeans! Huge legs and ass (in the good muscular way) are so much sexier!
[quote]attydeb2005 wrote:
Well Mel seeing your photos you have a fantastic body and should not mourn the loss of the skinny straight leg jeans! Huge legs and ass (in the good muscular way) are so much sexier![/quote]
Besides which, very few people can pull those off. In my opinion, if you have any curves at all, the super skinny jeans look is somewhat reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss character.
If you really, really want to know your actual bodyfat percentage find a University that has an accessable DEXA scan machine.
It is super acurate though probably kind of expensive. It’ll also tell you your bone density and some other cool stuff.
[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
[quote]attydeb2005 wrote:
Well Mel seeing your photos you have a fantastic body and should not mourn the loss of the skinny straight leg jeans! Huge legs and ass (in the good muscular way) are so much sexier![/quote]
Besides which, very few people can pull those off. In my opinion, if you have any curves at all, the super skinny jeans look is somewhat reminiscent of a Dr. Seuss character.[/quote]
I work with someone who can pull them off. She is quite tall and has the longest, thinnest calves I’ve ever seen. She tried to get me to try some on. Hello! I’m only 5’2" and I have muscles! I told her the other day, see how your calves are long and slender…now look at mine…quite a difference. I love my calves and am happy to sacrifice one style of jeans!
Thanks Joe! I’m not overly curious about it but since I was working with a trainer, that was one of the assessments he did routinely. I had a bone density scan a couple of years ago (before I started lifting heavy) and all those years of steady state cardio and/or genetics did me SOME good because I’m good to go in that department. Bone density is an issue on my mom’s side of the family but I obviously take after my dad’s (whew!).
I treat BF% like one more way to quantify progress, i.e., give yourself variety of feedback, as advised above.
How you feel
How your clothes feel
How you look
How much weight you are moving compared to how much you were moving.
old naked pictures vs. new naked pictures. Get nice people to look at your new naked pictures. They will always say something positive.
Waist, hips and other measurements (I do this weekly and log it because obsession is its own reward)
Note what inaccurate BF% I have access to (lockonfitness.com body comp test; then I manipulate the numbers to see what it would take to reach my goal but the variables drive me crazy. See obsession note.)
Look in mirror from various angles to see if any muscleage is showing. Try not to pop a blood vessel or fall off the bathroom vanity trying to coax them to surface.
Try never to compare myself to anyone but continue to admire them for inspiration.
While I’ve set a specific BF% goal for July 1, I also know I may not reach that goal number-wise, or I may reach it and not know it, but I have enough other feedback that I will take progress as its own reward.
And now that I’ve seen more of you, deb, you have a lot to be proud of and plenty of quantifiable progress.